Jade’s POV
The forest was quieter than usual as we walked, the late afternoon light filtering through the leaves in golden rays that danced over the ground. I followed a few steps behind Hunter, still not sure why I’d agreed to come with him. My heartbeat was a steady thrum in my ears, not just from the tension between us, but from the uncertainty of what he wanted to show me.
“I promise it’s nothing weird,” he said with a small chuckle, glancing back at me.
“I never said it was,” I mumbled, though my arms were still tightly folded across my chest. “You’ve just been acting strange lately.”
He didn’t argue. Instead, he stopped at the edge of a clearing and pointed toward a familiar old oak tree—gnarled, wide, and ancient. Its roots stretched like veins across the moss-covered ground.
I
